Raj Rajaratnam Sentenced To 11 Years In Prison For Insider Trading

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Raj Rajaratnam, a self-made hedge fund tycoon convicted in the biggest Wall Street trading scandal in a generation, was ordered on Thursday to serve 11 years in prison, one of the longest sentences on record in an insider-trading case but less than prosecutors had sought.

Prosecutors had asked U.S. District Judge Richard Holwell in Manhattan to impose a sentence of at least 19-1/2 years on the Galleon Group founder, the central figure in a sweeping criminal case that touched some of America's top companies, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Intel Corp, IBM and the elite McKinsey & Co consultancy.

Defense lawyers had argued that Rajaratnam deserved a much shorter prison term, citing unspecified health problems and arguing that the government was pushing for a punishment more appropriate to a violent criminal.

Prosecutors have called Rajaratnam, 54, the ``modern face'' of insider trading, putting him in a dubious pantheon of Wall Street power players such as takeover specialist Ivan Boesky and junk bond financier Michael Milken, principal figures in a mid-1980s insider-trading case. Both men served about two years in prison.

Rajaratnam's legal battle will go on, as he appeals his conviction on 14 criminal charges by a New York jury in May. The appeal targets the legality of the FBI wiretaps used to gain evidence that he improperly pumped corporate insiders for confidential data. Jurors heard dozens of the wiretap recordings during the two-month trial. (Reporting by Grant McCool; Editing by Martha Graybow and Tim Dobbyn)

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions.

Comments

[MARTYB]

03:43 AM on 10/17/2011

Well that's a pretty good start.

[RealistBC]

10:22 AM on 10/15/2011

If Raj Rajaratnam was instead named Jamie Dimon of Jeffrey Immelt, this case would never have gone to trial.

[Lpeter]

07:52 PM on 10/14/2011

He's appealing the evidence. He'll get out early and in better shape and get back to work. He'll have a happy ending!! I'm so glad.

[bkerensa]

07:41 PM on 10/14/2011

Raj now gets to enjoy the excellent cuisine in a federal prison for 11 years while paying other felons to protect him.

[BravoFour]

04:42 PM on 10/14/2011

Yay! We got one!

Can we do a Caucasian next?

[Eagleman]

04:36 PM on 10/14/2011

11 Years at the country club ? Not fair... He should be in for 20 years and become a boyfriend of a few inmate

[sarahblue]

03:34 PM on 10/14/2011

What a disgrace to the Indian community.

[smilodon1]

01:34 PM on 10/14/2011

This is a start. Now for the rest of the banksters...

[born 2b different]

06:25 PM on 10/14/2011

He is not a banker.

[american-dolt]

12:22 PM on 10/14/2011

Nelson, "Ha Ha".

NEXT!

[JHA in Texas]

11:59 AM on 10/14/2011

So when is the Goldman Sachs trial?

[matt spedale]

12:32 PM on 10/14/2011

Funny fact. Goldman Sachs was the number one donator for Obama in 08.

[eumenides]

12:55 PM on 10/14/2011

Raj was also a bid Democrat Party booster:
$26,700 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
$26,200 to the Democratic National Committee Services Corp.
$11,100 to Hillary Clinton
$10,000 to the New Jersey Democratic State Committee
$4,600 to Barack Obama
$2,000 to Charles Schumer


http://www.businessinsider.com/raj-rajaratnam-big-democratic-booster-2009-10#ixzz1am7VbTaY

[born 2b different]

06:26 PM on 10/14/2011

What would the charges be?

[2garen]

11:25 AM on 10/14/2011

It is cost effective to be a a criminal on wall st while regular people don't have a chance..
How much does that come out to per year?
He made billions..
How much does he get to keep?

[BravoFour]

04:07 PM on 10/14/2011

He was the 236th richest American in 2009, with an estimated net worth of $1.8 billion.

Take out the $53.4 million in restitution and $10 million in fines the court ordered, and that leaves him with $1.8 billion.

He will be 65 when he gets out, so he can start collecting social security as well.

[JScott]

11:21 AM on 10/14/2011

So his 'special knowledge' of making the right choices was 'HE CHEATED' just like so many others, (aka Michael Milken)

[Gilbert Albright]

09:26 AM on 10/14/2011

And he'll be released in 3 years and get to keep all the money. In case nobody ever told your CRIME DOES PAY! Just ask any politician!

[LastLiberalRepublican]

11:11 AM on 10/14/2011

Gilbert,

I don't believe that there is any parole in the Federal system, so three years is unlikely.

[BravoFour]

04:16 PM on 10/14/2011

He can get 15% good time credit. I think he is eligable for 594 days off for good behavior. But he should serve at least 3419 days.

[Garbearsf]

08:24 AM on 10/14/2011

Ok, DOJ you got one. Now when are you going after the 1,000's of crooked bankers/traders? It is past time for the government to start representing the people and not corporations. The 99ers have the right idea. Wall Street got us into this economic mess and should be punished. Civil fines on the corporations isn't the solution. Criminal prosecutions of a few CEO's and CFO's will put an end to making a buck no matter what laws or ethics are broken and how many people are hurt. Who caused more harm to this country, Wall Street or the 9/11 terrorists? Some individuals on Wall Street are terrorist and should be in jail. Our politicians must stop allowing these terrorists to stuff their pockets with money and send in DOJ's Seal Teams with orders to shoot on sight and put these criminals in jail.

[drdogood123]

07:48 AM on 10/14/2011

This is just the tip of the iceberg. Hundreds more on Wall Street and thousands more in the mortgage industry need to follow in his footsteps for bringing the global economy to her humble knees. The Dept of Justice is not serious about bringing these so-called non-violent criminals to justice but the havoc they've wreaked on every facet of our lives is just astounding.